TORONTO: Reports suggest a growing number of young people in Canada are embracing religious faith. Some church leaders attribute this trend primarily to Generation Z (Gen Z), those aged 15-29.
Calissa Ngozi, a Toronto-based mental health expert, commented that the influx of youth returning to churches following the COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented sight. Churches, such as St. Paul’s Bloor Street in Toronto, have seen a dramatic increase in youth attendance over the past few years, with numbers swelling from around 45 to nearly 500.
Factors driving this generation towards faith include struggles with loneliness, isolation, and anxieties about the future. Bishop Jenny Andison observed that Gen Z is recognizing that the progress and freedom championed by secularism are not delivering the promised fulfillment.
Statistics Canada data supports this trend, indicating that 22% of Canadians aged 15 to 24 participate in religious activities at least once a month. This figure is notably higher than that of other age groups between 25 and 64 (15%-17%). Furthermore, some studies in the U.S. suggest that men, more so than women, are increasingly attending church.
